Jan
24
Angelitos en casa, gamberritos en la calle
Are Spaniards less civic-minded than other nationalities? That was the question posed by the Spanish newspaper El País to its readers after some cow sculptures were vandalized last weekend.
If you’ve lived in or visited a major city you’ve probably already seen or heard about the Cow Parade, a series of outdoor bovine sculptures which started in Zurich, Switzerland a decade ago. This street art has spread around the world and has turned up, I believe for the first time, in Madrid.
The Cow Parade in Madrid is a series of 105 sculptures installed in public places throughout the center of town. For example, la Puerta del Sol, la Plaza Mayor, la Puerta de Alcalá and la Plaza de Cíbeles, just to name a few. (Click here for a “parade” photo album.)
But last weekend during the very first weekend that the sculptures went on display, 12 cow statues were vandalized and one was actually stolen. Yes, somehow a 400-kilo (880-pound) cow statue was stolen and transported to an apartment in the Lavapiés neighborhood in the center of Madrid. The thieves unscrewed the bolts holding the statute to its platform on the ground and then carried it away. Someone who lived in the area saw what was happening and instead of calling the cops decided to follow the group to their apartment building. The witness then called the police the next day. The fact that only one witness came forward and that this witness decided to consultarlo con la almohada before calling the cops just adds to the wackiness.
Last weekend’s events led El País, one of Spain’s largest newspapers, to wonder whether Spaniards are less civic-minded and less respectful of other people’s property than other nationalities. The El País article opened with an amusing anecdote about an international youth hostel in Amsterdam.
En un albergue juvenil de Ámsterdam hay un cartel: “Por favor, respeta los espacios comunes”. El idioma oficial de Holanda es el neerlandés y casi todo el mundo domina el inglés. En el hostal se reúnen jóvenes de docenas de nacionalidades, pero el cartel está sólo en castellano. ¿Por qué a quienes no hablan español no hay que hacerles esta advertencia? A lo mejor es por lo mismo por lo que una decena de estatuas de una exposición callejera de vacas fueron asaltadas en su primer fin de semana en Madrid mientras que, por ejemplo, en Bruselas, estuvieron pastando durante meses sin mayores inconvenientes.
The newspaper posed the following question to its readers: ¿Somos los españoles menos cívicos que otros países? And in a totally unscientific poll, the overwhelming response, 90% of the 3,000+ people who answered, said “YES.” 
If you live or have visited Spain, do you agree or disagree?
January 28th, 2009 at 12:26 am
Maybe they just thought it was a big, cow-shaped piece of litter and were carrying it home. Mediterranean cultures are full of people who keep their own homes spotlessly clean but who then throw chewing gum wrappers on the street and steal the occasional cow. I don’t know whether I agree or disagree, but I don’t see much evidence of civic-mindedness (taken to mean concern for others in your space) when Spaniards are driving cars or indeed from their political leaders, who seem less bothered about building a better Spain than about slagging one another off. What’s interesting is that 90% of Spaniards can agree with what El Pais suggests and apparently see nothing wrong with it, which suggests that it’s not that they’re being uncivic-minded, as it were, just that they don’t care either way.